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- Sibanye Stillwater has announced negotiations for further job cuts in its SA Gold business, which could affect more than 4,000 employees and contractors.
- The potential cuts will follow existing processes, but the group says the Beatrix 1 shaft has not been able to achieve production as planned.
- The company cut more than 1,000 jobs in a process completed in December, significantly less than the number affected by negotiations.
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Diversified products group Sibanye-Stillwater on Thursday announced it was embarking on another round of job cuts at its SA gold business, which could affect around 4,000 employees and contractors.
In addition to the previous restructuring completed during the first quarter of 2023 and 2024, the ongoing review of the Group's business means that it will be necessary to address the loss of the Beatrix 1 shaft, which has not achieved its planned production. This has been confirmed, the company said in a statement.
It is also considering cuts at the Kloof 2 plant, which lacked available processed material to cover overhead after the closure of the Kloof 4 shaft during 2023.
Sibanye has approximately 81,500 employees, including contractors, in its SA business as of 2022, including approximately 30,500 in its gold business and 46,400 in its platinum group metals (PGM) business. Beatrix in the Free State had approximately 7,900 employees and Kloof in Gauteng had a total of just over 10,000 employees.
The company announced Wednesday that the proposed restructuring of operations and services could impact 3,107 employees and 915 contractors.
The group announced in December that it had cut 575 jobs from Kloof 4 Shaft following a consultation process that began in September. The process, which affected around 2,400 employees, also saw 550 people take voluntary redundancy or take early retirement packages.
The group also cut a further 348 employees across its other gold businesses, while 1,057 employees accepted transfers to fill vacancies in the business.
The layoffs will also affect 581 contractors, with some employees and contractors placed on temporary employment during decommissioning.
Read | Sibanye-Stillwater cuts more than 1,000 gold jobs at Kloof mine
Sibanye-Stillwater acquired Kloof in February 2013, when Gold Fields carved out the majority of its SA gold mines into a new company, along with five other marginal mines in Gauteng and the Free State.
